Leadership in Times of Crisis

This has been prepared as a source of
guidance and support for communities facing an emergency that affords limited
time and capacity to prepare and react. This advice has been specifically
created for community and municipal leaders, especially those in smaller communities
where capacity, expertise, and time may be limiting factors.

This document is not exhaustive,
absolute, or perfect. Every emergency is unique and requires a tailored
response to address it successfully. This document is meant to provide common approaches
in general emergencies — and it contains approaches specifically nuanced to the
COVID-19 pandemic emergency.

The advice offered here is based on
my experience managing the response to, and recovery from, the floods in
Southern Alberta in 2013 which impacted 29 communities, as well as my
responsibility for oversight of the Alberta Emergency Management Authority
during my time as Minister. I worked with many talented professionals over
those years.

I have compiled everything I learned
into this short and simplified document for you to use at your discretion.

In all cases, provincial, state, and
federal directives and recommendations take precedence. This document is
provided as a guide in the absence of clear directives, orders, or
recommendations from existing emergency management professionals.

Don’t
Panic – In most crisis situations,
the impact of the event is made worse when decisions are based on fear and
people begin to panic. Panic manifests itself as fear or anger. Panic is
contagious. It can quickly spread around the community by word of mouth or social
media. It is important to ensure your community does not panic or you will
quickly lose control of the situation. It is even more important to ensure your
emergency response team does not panic. What everyone in your community needs
right now is a calm rational reasonable voice. It does not mean you must have
all the answers or even all the information, but you must be able to pass on
answers and information you do have. It means you also accept questions you
don’t have answers to in a reasonable and rational manner. Leadership in a
crisis is distinguished by one characteristic: it doesn’t panic. It
communicates.

Communicate – People are afraid. They are going to be looking for answers and
a calm steady voice at the helm. They are looking for someone to express their
fears to, who will listen, and take what they say into consideration. It is
important to understand that facts and information are not everything though.
Facts don’t quell fears. You can’t make someone who is afraid of flying feel
better by telling them that only 1 in 1,000,000 planes crash. Facts don’t quell
fears. Only two things will help:

Calm, rational, reasoned voices and
ears: You should consider simplifying the communications channel to get
information out. One email address, one phone number, and one face where people
can go for information, and concerns. That person should have a calming
demeanour. Messaging needs to be consistent and concise. Consider giving
updates often, even if there is no big, new information to give. People must
hear things many times (as many as seven times, in fact) before they comprehend
the message. And remember, it’s only when people believe they have no conduit
and no connection that they feel they are being left in the dark. Then they
become afraid and panic can take over. Communicate often.

Solutions to immediate
situations/issues help: In crisis situations people feel calmer and more
trusting when something is being done. Sometimes when anything is being done.
You don’t have to have the entire response worked out before you share. In a
crisis, most people worry about the issues right in front of them, and to
maintain confidence and prevent making the situation worse with panicked
citizens, address those issues right in front of them. Announce the work done
to secure water. If people are simply restless, find things for them to do,
even if it’s as simple as distributing board games. We often get so focused on
the big issues, we forget the little ones, but addressing the little ones may
be the most important to address.

Work
the Problem – In a crisis, we often want to
eliminate the cause as quickly as possible to the point we forget things that
can and should be done in the interim. Focus on boiling the problem down into
doable things that address the current challenges your community faces, rather
than the entire crisis. Working the problem also means focusing on what you can
do, not on what you can’t. However, keep in mind we often can accomplish more
than we imagine. We tell ourselves we can’t do something when, if fact, we can.
(See #7.) For instance, let’s say you don’t have any tests for the virus left
at the hospital. There’s no point getting angry at somebody about it or blaming
somebody now. You have a situation on your hands. You will be unable to test
for the virus. But there are other things you can do. Test temperatures, and
triage or quarantine accordingly. Find space for them, make them comfortable,
and address their ongoing needs. It will prevent panic. Just remember, work the
current problem for a solution you can implement. That said, there are three
main factors to consider as you work this pandemic problem:

Isolate and Protect the Vulnerable:
Seniors, those with compromised immune systems, and those with significant
health issues related to their respiratory and circulatory systems, are the
most vulnerable. Whenever possible it is best to keep them in place for comfort
and convenience but securing their location from risk vectors should be a
priority.

Reduce the Infection Curve: Hospitals
generally operate at between 60% and 80% capacity, depending on their location,
their services, and the time of year. It may seem like they have a lot of room,
but they don’t have as many empty beds as you think, and even if those beds are
empty, they are not all resourced for severe issues. In this case, most
patients recover since the mortality rate is ranging between 2% and 3%.
However, if even 10% of your community becomes ill and needs some level of
care, your resources will be overrun.

Again, it is important to reiterate, the mortality rate of this virus is low.
The real issue is managing the rate of infection to ensure your health
resources are not overrun. (In every other crisis we can call on backup from
other communities. In a pandemic situation, however, it is most likely that
every other community is equally challenged and will have no resources to
send.) Social distancing, cancelling public gatherings, closing schools, and
self-quarantining are important steps to control the infection curve, so the situation
is as manageable as possible.

*In future situations there are multiple factors to consider in managing a
pandemic, such as:

Transmission Vectors: Does it require contact? Is
it transmitted in the air? Is it open in the community? How long can it survive
on surfaces?Incidence of Infection: How many people will the
average infected person infect? How many people show symptoms of infection? How
long do symptoms take to appear?Mortality Rate: What is the percentage of patients
dying? What factors mitigate the risk of death in populations?At-risk Populations: What populations are most at
risk?

Assess
Your Resources – The only way to work the
problem successfully is to know what you have to work with in your own
community. You should conduct a quick and ongoing inventory of the physical and
human assets available. Consider how this situation could unfold and what
challenges it will create. Every situation and every community is unique, but
there will be similarities:

Health Resources: You may need new spaces
for the ill to be cared for, and whether your health professionals admit it or
not, their human resources may become overwhelmed. Although the rules say they
cannot use volunteers, if the situation becomes bad enough volunteers will be a
requirement.

Isolation and Care of the Vulnerable:
Most will likely have family members who will care for them, but some won’t.
How might you help ensure those folks in the community remain isolated from
possible infection, but get groceries and other supplies they need, and do not
isolate in a way that can create greater physical and mental safety risks?

Don’t wait until the crisis requires an urgent decision or immediate action. As
you anticipate the challenges coming with the crisis, seek out and assess the
resources you have available in your community to address those anticipated
challenges. Buildings, people, expertise, food and water, healthcare, and so on
are all resources. If you don’t need any of it then you are ahead of the demand
curve and that is wonderful. However, that information will be useful for any
future crisis event. If you don’t gather and assess your resources, you will be
playing catch up . . . and you will likely never catch up.

Make
Connections – This is not about calling on
other communities or governments for resources, but about sharing information
and solutions to challenges. In a crisis we are worn down physically and
mentally by the challenges, but also by the sense that we are alone in bearing
the responsibility and solution seeking. We are not. I have always said we are
stronger together, and this situation may prove that point more than any other.

It is important these relationships are made before a crisis unfolds. Frankly,
if you don’t pick up the phone until the crisis arrives, it is likely your
counterparts in neighbouring communities will be as overwhelmed as you are, and
they won’t have time to pick up the phone. However, it is not too late to try.
We are early into this situation, and it is not too late to share ideas on how
to address the arising situation, and possibly how you will work together.

Abandon
Pride and Build the Team – The
COVID-19 virus is the enemy. Pride is one of its allies. Pride keeps us from
asking for help. Pride keeps us from admitting our weaknesses. Pride keeps us
from listening to others. Pride keeps us from focusing on others, because it
has us focused on ourselves. In this situation, it is the public you serve that
is most important, not you. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have all the
answers. It doesn’t matter if people are angry at you. What matters are the
challenges people face in this situation and how they can be addressed or
mitigated.

One of the best ways to handle the issue of pride is to assemble the best team
possible. The best team will be people who work well together. There will be
little pride amongst the members. The team will include a variety of people in
the community who understand the challenges facing a diverse population.

Together, such a team can address a broad range of issues and will be more
creative in the solutions it finds.

Forget
Rules and Change your Mindset –
Everything in our world operates on a set of rules. Sometimes those rules are
official (government policy) and sometimes they are in our minds, which means
they are self-imposed ideas about how the world should operate. Those rules
often prevent us from being creative in our solution seeking.

For instance, you may assess that the hospital is approaching capacity and more
space is needed for those in need of care who are non-emergent. Someone may
suggest that the school might be a good place to expand care options. You might
think to yourself, ‘no, they will never let us use the school,’ so you don’t
bother to ask. Likewise, at the school, they may have a policy that says the
school can’t be used for activities not school related. Whether it is the
rule/policy, or the presumptive mindset, a solution to an arising problem is
ruled out inappropriately.

Forget the rules and change your mindset. This virus operates outside your
rules and mindset. The solutions you create should be able to go beyond them,
too.

Be
Prepared – This one isn’t really about
the current situation, but about the next crisis that unfolds. Once this one
ends, and it WILL end, it is a perfect time to prepare for the next one. And
there will be a next one. Being prepared as a community is usually thought of
as having local emergency services in operation and coordinated. Police, fire,
and ambulance are important emergency services for sure. However, being a
prepared community goes well beyond those services.

The municipality needs to prepare beyond emergency services. Understanding
resource limitations and capacity regarding water and waste-water, power
sources, natural gas sources, and recreation capacities are important aspects
of being prepared for an emergent situation. Having a team to call on and
practicing desk-top exercises ensures some understanding of how to get up and
running in short order. We don’t see emergencies coming. That is why they are
emergencies. Practice and prepare as a municipality.

As well, it is important to remind households what they can do to be prepared
for the first 24 hours of an emergency. Food and water, basic hygiene care,
light and heat sources, and some basic medicines are things every family should
have on hand the first 24 hours. Being prepared for those first crucial hours
provides time for the emergency services and the municipality to organize and
gear up for the coming challenge. It also helps prevent hoarding and puts a lid
on panic.

Leadership in a time of crisis will
calm a community — and help prevent an emergency from escalating into something
drastically worse.